Kahlua, Sage
by Mibamonster
Summary: "I thought it was coffee." "It's Kahlua, Sage. Packed with sugar and coffee flavor." At Sonya's wedding, Sydney drinks a bit more than intended and ends up saying more than she was supposed to. Sydrian.


It would be an understatement to say I felt awkward at the Moroi Court. Even though Sonya's wedding had been a small one, there were still enough vampires present to make my skin crawl. Nursing a glass of orange juice, I watched the people on the dance floor. My eyes fixed on Sonya, who beamed as she and Mikhail twirled around the room.

"Sydney, hey."

I looked aside to see Rose Hathaway standing next to me. She wore the uniform of a guardian, though I suspected the red blouse was an extra for tonight. While she smiled at me, she was still focused on her surroundings, her vigilance never failing.

She nodded at my orange juice. "I see you've turned in quite the party animal. Take it easy, Syd – you know the effects of orange juice on an innocent girl like you."

I didn't know what effect the orange juice had on my innocence; I knew it was bad for my diet and teeth, though. Then again, alcohol was rife with calories, so this might still be the safest choice. If they'd just had coffee… "Oh, well, you know me," I said, shrugging. "Whenever there's a party around…"

"… you stand in a corner and make sure nobody gets hurt." She grinned and turned away to look at the dancers. "Still, I wouldn't mind a drink. Having this night off seemed pretty awesome, but someone has to protect Lissa."

We both glanced at Lissa, who was sitting not too far away, talking to Jill. Neither of them seemed at ease, but I was glad Jill was getting to know her sister a little better. Lissa was the reason Jill's entire existence had been uprooted; it seemed only fair that she and Jill got something good out of their unexpected sisterhood.

"Shouldn't you be protecting her now?" I said.

Rose shook her head. "Nah, I got a fifteen minute break. I was hoping Dimitri'd be off, too, so someone could finally teach him how to dance, but alas, it was not meant to be." She sighed heavily and brought her hand to her forehead like a Victorian maiden. "Now he'll keep thinking those Berlin Wall moves are cool."

I grinned and downed the rest of my orange juice. Now that I had someone to talk to, I didn't feel like I needed the drink as a lifeline, and to be fair, I needed the energy. I hadn't eaten much today in an attempt to look better in my dress, and I was starting to feel a bit dizzy.

"So, how are things down in Palm Springs?" Rose said, taking a seat.

I followed her example while I thought of a reply to that. How _were _things in Palm Springs? "Relatively easy, I guess," I said. "No more Warriors of the Light, no attacks on Jill, no Strigoi appearances…" Of course, there was the part where I practiced magic with my Ancient History teacher and that little business where Adrian had kissed me, but it seemed better not to bring those up right now. Besides, Adrian and I were talking again, even if things were still awkward, so that wasn't _really _a problem.

I still hoped I could convince myself if I just repeated that often enough.

It didn't work.

A waiter appeared, carrying a tray of drinks. "Would you fair ladies like a drink?" He smiled at us, showing just the hint of his fangs.

"No, thank you," Rose said. "I need to get back to work soon, saving the world and all that."

Maybe it was because Rose would be gone in a couple of minutes, maybe it was just my curiosity, but something made me get a drink from the tray. "Thanks." As the waiter left, I brought the drink to my nose and sniffed at it. The smell reminded me a lot of coffee. I took a hesitant sip and was surprised to find out it tasted like coffee, too.

"You know," I said, after taking another sip, "this isn't too bad."

The corners of Rose's mouth turned up and she leaned back in her chair. "Sydney, sometimes you're so adorable. I think taking classes with you would be hilarious."

I raised my eyebrows, and she continued, "Eddie told me about some of the things that happened at Amberwood. Those poor boys, asking you out when you don't even realize what they're doing…" Her kohl-rimmed eyes lit up at the thought.

I shrugged. "I've got a lot better at that."

"Yes – didn't you have a boyfriend? What was that all about? Sydney going wild…"

"Oh, Brayden. He wasn't really my boyfriend. We went on a couple of dates and then he broke it off with me." To avoid Rose's gaze, I took another sip of the drink. It really was very good, filling me with a pleasant warmth. "It wasn't that big a deal. Everybody just liked to think that it was."

"Still. It's good for you, practicing with dating," she said. "Some experience can never hurt when you finally meet your knight in shining armor." As she said this, her eyes drifted off to the other side of the room, where Dimitri was standing. Even my heartbeat increased when I saw him in a suit. He really was a very good-looking man.

Rose seemed to snap out of her reverie and turned back to me. "Anyway, where was I?"

"Something about practice and knights in shining armor," I said. I saw the waiter again. One moment I wondered if maybe I shouldn't have another one of these – but then I thought, _It's a wedding. _I quickly emptied my glass and made an awkward little wave to the waiter. Luckily, he saw me and game over, his trey half-filled with glasses of coffee-like goodness.

"Hi. Sorry. I hadn't expected it to be this good," I said, placing my empty glass on his tray and getting a new one.

"No problem, ma'am," he said. He nodded to us both and then continued his rounds, leaving me with my wonderful drink.

"You might want to take it easy with that." Rose took a pastry from a plate on the table.

"I'll be fine," I said. "I am fine. I feel… I feel quite good, actually. A bit like I could write a really good novel if I sat down for it, if you get what I mean?" My mind was a little bit fuzzy, but in a very nice way. Not like I was writing a novel, but like I was in one. Everything had taken on a strange, dreamlike quality that was pretty enjoyable.

Rose laughed. "I've never felt like that, but if it works for you… Write a _novel_. You're so typical, Syd. Most people would probably start dancing."

"That does sound like a good idea. When I've finished this one, I'm definitely going to dance." I frowned as I realized something. "Think you've still got a break when – wait, I know." Holding up one finger, I emptied the entire glass in one go. Then I smiled at Rose. "What I was saying: would you like to dance with me?"

She threw back her head and laughed. "This is great. Yes, I'd _love _to dance with you. We'll show Dimitri how things are supposed to be done."

Giggling, I grabbed her hand and followed her to the dance floor. I was a bit unsteady in my high heels, but when we'd found a good spot, that didn't matter anymore. What mattered were the music and the way it seemed to flow around me, guiding my body. The moves seemed to come naturally to me, and as Rose spun me around, I felt free. Free and sexy and _happy_. Gone was all the awkwardness from earlier, here was the fun!

Some people were staring at us – a couple of them even clapped when Rose did a particularly complicated move – and I enjoyed the attention. It was good that they were watching me, because I was _fabulous_.

Too soon, Rose pulled me closer and said, "Syd? I'm really sorry, but I've got to go back to work. Think you'll manage on your own?"

Just then, I spotted Adrian. It took all my strength to turn back to Rose. "Yeah, I'll be fine. Don't you worry about me." My voice seemed to come from pretty far away; it was funny to be so detached from myself, yet be so _me _at the same time.

"Okay. And please, take it easy on the drinking, okay?" She squeezed my hand and made her way through the crowd, back to where Lissa was standing.

While she went back to her guardian duties, I moved to Adrian. I had to say, he looked exceptionally good today. Adrian Ivashkov in a suit was a view that I would remember for a long time, I was sure.

"Adrian," I said when I'd reached him. "It's so nice to see you. You look so pretty tonight." I blinked, wondering why I'd said that, but… well… he _did _look very good. So why _shouldn't _I tell him? "I just thought you should know that, you know?"

"Thank you." He looked confused, but that smile I loved was on his face. "I usually look very pretty, but it's nice of you to say so, anyway."

"I know you usually look pretty." I rolled my eyes at him. "You're just prettier than usual. I think it's the tie." As I talked, I moved closer to him, reaching for his tie. It was a bright green that brought out his eyes wonderfully. Still looking at the tie, I said, "It might be that you're just very pretty, though. But tonight, you're _extra _pretty." I took a deep breath. My head was suddenly very heavy, but a couple of seconds later, the feeling was gone. _Okay._ This was weird.

"Are you all right?" Adrian said, cocking his head.

"Yes!" That came out louder than I'd intended. "Yes, I'm fine!" All of a sudden, a great idea popped into my head. "Adrian? Will you dance with me, please?"

He opened his mouth and I expected some witty quip, but all he said was, "Of course." So I led him into the group of dancers, pulling him by his tie. When I turned around to face him, he was closer than I expected. _Good_. I put my arms around his neck, feeling a bit foolish because he was so tall, but then he closed his arms around me and I was lost in the scent of his cologne and the sensation of his warmth.

_Adrian_.

This was what I'd been wanting all these weeks. I'd been denying it to him, to Jill, to myself, but in the end, I just wanted him to hold me tight. It came so effortlessly, being with him.

"Okay," he said after a couple of minutes, "what are you on?" He pulled away from me and studied my face, his hands resting on my shoulders.

"On?" I repeated. "I'm not on anything."

"Sage, if you're sober, then I'm a fish on a unicycle."

"I didn't know you could ride a unicycle," I said. "Really, Adrian, I'm sober. I haven't had anything. Well…" I hesitated, the coffee-like drink coming back to me. That _had _been coffee – right? "I… I might've had something… but I thought…" My brain was going fuzzy again and I was glad Adrian's hands were steadying me. I blinked a couple of times until the dizziness faded away.

"Maybe you should sit down for a minute." Placing one hand on the small of my back, Adrian guided me through the throng of dancing vampires, until we'd reached a couple of chairs. When I sat down, he went away. A couple of second later, he returned with a glass of orange juice.

"Thanks," I said as he handed it to me. "Sorry, I'm a bit dizzy."

"I know the feeling." He took a chair and turned it around. Then he sat down so his forearms were resting on the backrest. "So, Sage, what did you have?"

"Orange juice. And… some drink and I thought it was coffee. It _tasted _like coffee, at least." Why was making sentences this hard? Even if it had contained alcohol – which I still hoped it hadn't – I'd only had two glasses. Two glasses wasn't that much, was it? "I really thought it was coffee."

His eyes twinkled and his mouth twitched, but at least he kept from grinning. "It's Kahlua, Sage. Packed with sugar and coffee flavor. At least, I'm assuming you're referring to those?" He nodded towards a waiter whose tray was filled with glasses of my 'coffee'.

_Packed with sugar? _I thought, dazed. _I should've stucked – sticked – stuck to orange juice. _"You're joking," I groaned, hiding my face in my hands.

"Please. I can make funnier jokes than that."

I didn't look at him, opting to drink some more orange juice instead. I idly wondered if I'd have a hangover tomorrow. "I feel so embarrassed, but at the same time, I'm not really embarrassed _yet_, you know?" I talked mostly to my glass. "Please stop me from doing anything very embarrassing. I'm saying words derived from "to embarrass" way too often right now. Sorry for that."

I glanced up at him, expecting him to be entertained, or maybe a little worried. What I hadn't expected was the expression of endearment, the way he looked at me reminding me of Mikhail when he watched Sonya. I looked down at his tie and blushed when I remembered pulling it. If I ever needed an excuse to stay away from alcohol, this night had given it to me. How was I ever going to face Adrian when I was sober?

One of his hands reached out and caressed the skin on my arm, giving me goose bumps. "Don't worry," he said. "Consider yourself protected by the Adrian Ivashkov Squad for drunk, beautiful, young women."

"Tipsy. Not drunk. I'm _tipsy_."

"The Adrian Ivashkov Squad for tipsy, beautiful, young women. You know, Sage, you really should drink more often." He retrieved his hand. The place where he'd touched me still felt tingly. "You're very talkative when you've had something to drink."

I glared at him, but it did nothing except broaden his grin. "I think I've embarrassed myself enough already, without more alcohol adding anything to it."

"And when you say 'embarrass', are your referring to your sexy dancing, your very unsubtle attempt at seducing me, or your lack of eloquence?" he said, resting his chin on his hands.

"You're enjoying this way more than you should," I muttered.

"I am."

"You're not even going to pretend to be embarrassed?"

He raised one eyebrow. "You really like that word, don't you?"

"I think it's the longest word I can say without making a fool out of myself," I admitted. "Adrian? Is the world supposed to spin when you're drunk?" I closed my eyes and rested my forehead on my hand. "Because mine is right now, and it's not very nice."

"I think it might be best if you go back to the hotel."

I heard the scraping of a chair across the floor. When I looked up, Adrian was standing in front of me, offering me his hand.

"I can still walk, thank you very much," I said. I got up and, ignoring the black and red dots in front of my eyes, I checked if I still had my purse. Everything seemed okay, save for the dizziness.

"You might want to finish that juice. And drink a lot of water when you get back. And maybe you should eat something." Already he was looking around, but I shook my head.

"Water will do the trick just fine. Let's just go. My bed sounds really good right now." Just the thought of snuggling underneath that warm, comfortable duvet was enough to give me the energy to get through the crowd.

When we got outside, the cold Pennsylvania air was like a blessing, clearing my head in a way I hadn't imagined possible. I closed my eyes and opened my arms, embracing the awareness. Light flecks of snow tickled my face and I giggled.

"You're worse than I thought," Adrian said. "Never thought I'd live to see this."

I turned around to tell him off, but when I saw him, I didn't want to anymore. Instead, I took this moment of dreaminess combined with clarity to embrace him. I brought him down to me, my lips brushing along the skin of his cheek, feeling his light stubble. My heart fluttered in my chest when I opened my eyes and realized I could kiss him. I placed one hand on his chest and felt his heartbeat. It was as erratic as mine.

"Sage -" he said, but I shook my head.

"Ssh." I placed one finger over his lips. "Adrian, I'm going to kiss you now." I stood on my tiptoes and brought my lips up to his, but then he pushed me away gently.

"Sage, you're drunk," he said.

"Tipsy."

"Drunk. Or at least so tipsy that this would be a bad idea."

I swallowed as I tried to process this. Was he saying he didn't want this? Didn't he want me? I'd thought… "Oh. Well… that's… is it? I think it's a good idea," I tried.

The smile he sent me didn't reach his eyes. "A lot of things seem like great ideas when you're drunk. I once thought it would be brilliant if I went streaking through the Court." He grimaced.

I pouted and rested my head against his chest. "I'd like to have seen that."

"Yeah, well, a friend stopped me before I actually did it, so I'm afraid there are no pictures of it or anything. But what I'm trying to say is: you're really going to regret this in the morning." He rested his hands on my shoulders again, and then he slid them down my arms. Despite the freezing cold, I hadn't come with a coat, thinking it was only three minutes from the wedding reception to our hotel. Now I was glad I hadn't put one on; I wouldn't have wanted to miss this sensation for the world.

"So you're not going to kiss me?" I said.

He shook his head. "If you're still interested in the morning, I'm all yours, but until then…"

I let out a deep breath and wrapped my arms around his waist, inside his jacket. "I'll probably be happy about it tomorrow, but right now, I'm not. I don't mind you taking advantage of me, I think."

"I'd mind," he said. He kissed the top of my head. "Come on, let's get you to bed, before you start making more indecent proposals to innocent young men like me." He wrapped one arm around my shoulders and together we walked back to the hotel where our entire Palm Springs gang was staying. Though the short walk didn't lessen my desire to kiss Adrian, it _did _give me back some of my reason.

"I feel so embarrassed," I said when we stepped into the hotel's elevator. "Please tell me you'll forget this."

"Sage, you looked ready to love the entire _world _out there. That image will stay with me even when I'm old and ugly." He considered that for a moment. "Even when I'm old. I doubt I'll ever get ugly."

I playfully slapped him. "You, Adrian Ivashkov, are beyond vain."

"I'm often more than mere words can describe, I know. It's a heavy cross to bear, but when you're amazing like me, you get used to it."

The doors opened and we got out. I started rummaging through my purse for the key card to my room, while walking towards my room. "Adrian, I'm not tipsy enough to listen to you glorifying yourself like that."

"It's not glorifying when it's true."

"I meant what I said about your vanity." I finally found my card and put it into the scanner. The light turned green and I opened the door, turning around so I could still talk to Adrian. It seemed a lot scarier now there was no music in the background, no other people to diffuse the tension. "But still, thank you for walking me 'home'."

"No problem," he said. "Trust me: it was more than worth it."

"Yeah. Well, er… Thanks anyway." I wondered what the proper etiquette for this situation was. Should I invite him in for coffee? Should I just say goodbye? Why hadn't I practiced _this _before I met my knight in shining armor? "You really don't want to kiss me?" _Oops_. That definitely wasn't etiquette – was it?

"You. Lots of water. Now," he said.

I crossed my arms in front of my chest. My blue dress was a bit tighter than usual and suddenly I got a lot more of his attention. "That wasn't an answer to my question."

He just shook his head, grinning. "Just eat something, Sage. We'll discuss the kissing tomorrow."

I choked. The silence of the empty hallway came crashing down on me, along with the realization that if I didn't do this now, I maybe never would. "Tomorrow I won't dare to. I'll be logical again," I whispered. "When I'm sober, I'm scared of how I feel for you. Now I can just… now I can just enjoy it, but tomorrow, everything is going to look horrible again." There was a lump in my throat, constricting my voice, and my eyes were brimming with tears. _Oh no. I don't want to cry. I'm not going to cry. How did this happen?_

Through the teary haze, I looked at Adrian. He looked lost, his eyes like that of an abandoned puppy, his mouth opening but not uttering a sound. He took a deep, shaky breath. "Sydney, I…"

My chin started wobbling. I tried to tell myself it was just the alcohol doing this to me, but then why did it feel like my heart was breaking? "Tomorrow I'm going to remember everything the Alchemists told me and it's going to matter to me again and I'm going to hate myself for feeling for you like this and I just want to _forget _that for one night. Minute. Moment. Anything."

He swallowed and did a step towards me. "You're drunk," he said, his voice unsteady. "You'll regret this."

"More than I'll regret not doing it?"

"I'll regret it." He sighed and brought his face closer to mine. "But when has that ever stopped me from doing something stupid?" His breath tickled my face and I leaned in closer, wishing this moment could last forever.

_Adrian_.

Everything around me disappeared when I kissed him. There was just Adrian and his lips and his touch and his smell and that kiss, warming me more than the alcohol ever could, making me feel higher than _anything_ ever could. It was like magic and I wanted nothing more than to do this for the rest of my life.

Too soon, he broke away. "I'm sorry. I can't do this. I can't take advantage of you like that."

"Would it make a difference if I said I've been thinking about it all the time? While I was sober? Can't you just… take this moment of braveness and stupidity?" I said. I could still taste him on my lips; a combination of gum and wine and Adrian. "Please?"

He shook his head. "No. I'm sorry, but you have your reasons for not kissing me when you're sober. I may not like them, but they're there and they matter to you."

"They're stupid reasons."

His lips turned up in a wry smile. "That might be the case – no, that _is _the case – but…" He ran a hand through his hair. It had been uncommonly tidy tonight; I liked it better now that it was messy again.

I leaned against the doorpost and let out a deep sigh. "I thought I was supposed to be the voice of reason in this… relationship… affair… friendship… whatever we have?"

"Yeah, well, I was supposed to be the drunk one and look what happened to that."

"That's very true," I admitted. "Okay, so you're not going to kiss me."

"Nope."

"That… sucks." I glanced over my shoulder into my dark hotel room. "I think I have a coffee machine in this. Would you like to come in for some?"

"Let's not push my resolve," he said.

I tugged at his tie again, but I'd lost my vigor. "I didn't mean it like that. Well… Maybe a little bit." Peeking up at him, I felt the familiar flapping of butterfly wings in my stomach. I knew he was right, though: I would regret this in the morning. If there was anyone who had experience with being drunk and doing stupid things, it was probably Adrian. "So, have you got any tips to make sure I don't wake up hung-over?"

"Drink a lot of water. Or things with a lot of sugar – if you know what that is. Other than that… don't try those weird things with raw eggs or tomato juice. They're disgusting and don't work." He scrunched up his face. "At least not enough to make them worth that taste."

I nodded, knowing I would skip the sugar step. "Okay. Thanks. And good night."

"Good night, Sage." He leaned down and pecked me on my cheek. When he pulled back, he raised his eyebrows. "Behave."

I raised my chin. "I am behaving wonderfully. Apart from my seduction attempt, I'd say I'm quite normal when I'm tipsy."

He grinned and I couldn't help but smile in return. "If that's what you want to believe," he said.

Still smiling, I entered my room and closed the door behind me. Throwing myself fully-clothed on my bed, there was only one thing I could think of.

_Adrian._


End file.
